An example of a self-service store adapted for use of a self-scanning system is disclosed in published U.S. application Ser. No. 08/063,581, and in the corresponding U.S. Pat. No. 5,397,882, incorporated herein by reference
In the self-service store described in U.S. application Ser. No. 08/063,581, customers who participate in the self-scanning system can obtain a scanning device (hand scanner) near the entrance of the self-service store, for instance a supermarket, which scanning device may for instance comprise a barcode reader by which the article code provided on or near the articles selected by the customer can be scanned by the customer himself and be stored in the memory of the scanning device.
Before the customer leaves the store, the memory of the scanning device is read out and the amount to be paid by the customer is determined. Upon payment and, if applicable, a spot check to verify the correctness of the data registered in the memory of the scanning device, the customer can leave the store. The scanning device is then handed in again, so that it becomes available to a next customer.
Divers variants of such a self-scanning system are possible and a number of variants are also described in U.S. application Ser. No. 08/063,581. A major advantage of the use of such a self-scanning system is that the waiting times at the checkouts are markedly reduced.